Inside the Wood 1917

Harald Giersing made 'Inside the Wood' with oil paint, and you can just feel the hand of the artist in it, can’t you? The painting is built up with these confident, rectangular marks of green, brown, and grey, that somehow manage to suggest both density and light. I bet Giersing was out there, right in front of those trees, squinting, mixing, trying to get it down. I wonder if he felt like he was wrestling with the painting? I can imagine him thinking, "How can I make this flat surface feel like a real place, with all its depth and mystery?” And look at the way he lays down those greens, thick in some spots, thin in others, almost like he’s sculpting the light itself. It reminds me of other painters who were trying to get at something beyond just representation. It’s like he’s saying, "Here's how I see it, here's how I feel it, take it or leave it." And to me, that's what painting is all about.